In the Fragile Species,
Lewis Thomas gives a truly unique view of biology, medicine, and science in
general, written in a fantastic prose style. He looks at certain factors in the
fields of biology and medicine in a historical fashion, viewing what we have
now in context of the larger historical framework. Unlike other fields, we
always seem to have a huge trust in what science we know right now. Especially
those that are less knowledgeable in the fields, it always seems like we as a
community have constantly unveiled the hidden parts of the universe. Thomas is
wary of this hubris. He shows not only how much we don't understand, especially
in the realm of disease, but he also shows how this hubris has been proven to
be misplaced time and time again. For a long time, bloodletting was the way
doctors believed they could cure. Eventually, the scientific community figured
out that these practices were in fact doing more harm than good. Thomas is
afraid that we are having a similar understanding now. If we feel that we have
come to the apex of human understanding we lack the capacity to move forward
effectively.
This theme of human hubris flowed
throughout much of the book. We are a fragile species that in many respects are
just part of the world. History, in the broadest sense, has shown this time and
time again. For the religious person, this is a mightily important idea. We
should understand that even though we have a huge capacity, we are humble in
the face of G-d. At the same time, this is important in a secular level as
well. The understanding of our place in the broad context of the world is
important for each of us to see the opinions of others and move forward as a
people. It helps us to not take things too seriously when they aren’t important.
For some reason, I have been seeing recently more and more of this type of
overreaction. Whether it is about Rav Bina or in one of the YU papers, people
have been making more controversy than warranted (perhaps, some things do in
fact need to change). Many times this stems from an extremism that comes from a
lack of humility about one’s opinions. Feel free to disagree.
Thomas then moves on to topics of
how we live together, by looking at the general animal kingdom. He tries to
prove the thesis that animals that show the ability to work together have the
ability to survive throughout the history of the world. While I don't think he
is able to prove it in the empirical sense, he lends much support to the idea
through different animals that have thrived or failed with this characteristic.
Within any community, this idea should be just as true. Our ability to cooperate
with each other will eventually determine to what extent we are able to thrive.
Lewis Thomas writes about important topics, looking at them
through a different lens. He writes about these topics in a way that is easy to
read and easily accessible. I would definitely recommend Thomas’ writings.
Next
Week: Good to Great
